Thursday, December 4th

The Magic Trains:
1.) Worked more on our box project of the desert habitat. We molded animals and plants out of clay and painted the sky blue.
2.) Used the scooters again in Fitness and followed directions such as “put the red ball in the same colored hoola hoop”.
3.) Used manipulatives during Math to work more on subtraction skills. Some students did coin rubbings of a penny and had to describe the penny.

The Diener Dinosaurs:
What a terrific Thursday! Today the Diener Dinosaurs…
1.) Read ‘Big Bear, Little Bear’ during Language Arts. Then we worked in our ‘Explode the Code’ workbooks, played word family memory, and practiced sequencing and retelling stories.
2.) Finished our holiday pattern pictures and built AAB and ABC patterns out of unifix cubes in Math.
3.) Made a numbers book about arctic animals!
4.) Had music class with Miss Deanna – we sang ‘Jingle Bells’ and other winter songs!

The Mighty Dieners:
We had such a great day! A Secret Service agent met us outside the White House! His name was Terence and he gave us a GREAT tour! We entered the White House right outside the First Lady’s office, so we had to be a little quiet. We learned that the photographs in the hallway are changed every couple of weeks as the president travels around to new events. We learned the White House burned down during the War of 1812, but they were able to save the portrait of President George Washington, and we saw it hanging in the East Room. We were so lucky, as today was the first day they were displaying the holiday decorations. This year the theme is “A Red, White and Blue Christmas”. We learned so many things about the White House: it has 132 rooms, 3 elevators, a pool, tennis courts, a movie theatre (where the president watches movies and also practices his speeches), a bowling alley and the president’s helicopter lands on his front yard! Outside, we saw them building the stage for the Innaguration of President-elect Obama and saw the house he will be staying in before he is president. It is called the Blair House. We were given really neat books to take home that tell you all about the holiday decorations!
After such a fun morning, we had Music and Drama in the afternoon! In Drama we got to relive our trip to the White House! We acted out the different things we saw and even pretending to have an election!

The Golden Owls:
1.) The White house trip was memorable and historical. Every room is decorated with ornaments, wreathes, and President paintings. One of our favorite rooms was the blue room, which had a tree connected to the ceiling.
2.) As a class, we wanted to thank our secret service agent Terence and Ms Kate for giving us such an unforgettable Field Trip.
3.) In the afternoon we continued to build teamwork and communication in Drama with Mr. Jim.

From the Office:
1.) Scholastic Book order forms were sent home in your child’s folder. If you are interested in ordering, please make sure to return the order, and payment by TOMORROW, Friday, December 5th to ensure delivery by December 19th
2.) Mark your calendars: Math & Language Arts training on Monday, December 8th @ 10AM in Room 16 - Please RSVP with Leah and indicate whether you will attend or not.
3.) There are only a few days left for the 10% discount and donation shopping promotion at Tree Top Kids! Mention The Diener School now through the 7th.